Ellen Orange

I am a second year English Literature student at Durham University. I love reading, I write for Palatinate, The Durham Globalist and BounceSin. When I'm not reading or writing you will usually find me taking photos!

I walked into the cinema with completely mixed expectations. Having heard this film was fantastic and that it was up for Oscars - coupled with such a star-studded cast and Scorsese directing - it just screamed Hollywood Blockbuster.

‘Neck nomination’ appears to be the newest social media craze on the scene and the trend has become hugely popular among students in particular. For those who haven’t seen these videos filling up their news feeds the basic premise is this: when you get nominated you have 24 hours to down a quantity of alcohol and upload a video of this onto Facebook. You then get to nominate someone of your choice and so the game goes on.

Recently the ‘keep calm and carry on’ attitude of the British public has vanished. Instead we have seen uproar. Facebook is littered with angry rants and even some of the most liberal and left-wing people I know have done political U-turn’s to rival Nick Clegg. What has caused all of this? In fine British fashion, it’s a TV programme. When the NSA scandal broke and America was up in arms, Britain largely stayed quiet. We don’t care if the government spies on us, but ‘Benefits Street’ on Channel 4 has sparked outrage. And it’s understandable. Being deliberately controversial, the show has highlighted people who manipulate the system and money for nothing while making no effort to try. It demonises all people on benefits, never showing the other side where there are people who are genuinely ill, incapable of working and who need support.